Business

Gemstone manufacturer Charles & Colvard named Marvin Beasley CEO. He replaces Randy McCullough, who announced his retirement this week. Beasley, 71, was CEO of Helzberg Diamonds from 2004 through 2009 and has been a director at Charles & Colvard for the last five years. The Morrisville-based company reported a net loss of $13.1 million for 2014.

The state unemployment rate held steady at 5.4% in January, according to data released Tuesday by the N.C. Department of Commerce. The national average was 5.7%. The state added jobs in leisure, manufacturing and construction while the number of jobs in trade, transportation and utilities fell. North Carolina's jobless rate was 6.6% a year ago.

Packrite will invest $8.9 million to expand its High Point plant and will add 100 jobs to its 78. The locally based packaging company was ranked No. 205 on the Inc. magazine's list of the 500 fastest-growing companies in the United States. Packrite makes cardboard and paperboard packaging for a variety of products.

Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf's total compensation for 2014 remained unchanged at $19.3 million, according to the bank's annual proxy filing. Charlotte-based David Carroll, who leads about 35,000 employees in the bank's wealth, brokerage and retirement unit, earned $9.6 million. The San Francisco-based bank employs about 22,000 people in Charlotte, its East Coast headquarters.

Cary-based convenience-store chain The Pantry announced it will lay off 250 workers in Cary and Sanford – about half of its workforce in the two Triangle cities – as a result of the company's merger with Canada-based Alimentation Couche-Tard, which was completed Monday.

Wilmington-based nCino received an investment from San Francisco-based Salesforce Ventures, which provides the platform on which nCino's Bank Operating System is based. The software company did not disclose the amount of the investment. nCino announced last month it raised $29 million in a financing led by private-equity firm Insight Venture Partners.

More than 2,200 North Carolina residents who lost their homes to foreclosure should begin receiving claim forms this week related to a settlement between Atlanta-based SunTrust Banks and state and federal agencies. Payments will average about $850 per borrower.

Honda Aero received certification from the Federal Aviation Administration for the engines it produces for the HondaJet light aircraft. Burlington-based Honda Aero is the sister company of Honda Aircraft, which is building the corporate jets at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro ("Ready to Take Off," February 2014).

UNC Wilmington officials said they hope to name finalists for school's chancellor position on Thursday. The chancellor search committee plans to submit names of three recommended candidates to the university's board of trustees. If the trustees approve the finalists, UNC System President Tom Ross will conduct interviews over the next several weeks.

Companies can begin applying for permits for hydraulic fracturing in North Carolina, and drilling could start later this year. The state Mining and Energy Commission spent two years crafting rules for the practice. The rules were approved in December by a state panel and take effect Tuesday.Also: As NC fracking moratorium lifts, Lee County awaits wildcatters, The Charlotte Observer